Dimuth Karunaratne. (AP Photo)

The International Cricket Council has honoured former Sri Lankan captain Dimuth Karunaratne, who concluded his international career with his 100th Test match against Australia in Galle.
In his final Test appearance, Karunaratne scored 36 and 14 runs as Australia secured a nine-wicket victory, completing a clean sweep of the two-match series.
“Dimuth has had a very fine career during which he excelled as a batter in the most traditional format of the game, becoming only the seventh from his country to feature in 100 Tests,” said ICC chairman Jay Shah in a release.
Karunaratne, 36, accumulated 7222 runs in Tests with an average of nearly 40, including his highest score of 244. He also participated in 50 ODIs, scoring 1,316 runs.
During his tenure as Sri Lanka’s captain from 2019 to 2023, he led the team in 30 Tests, achieving 12 wins and 12 losses.
“His commitment has been second to none and he has been a great ambassador of the game. I am sure fans of Test cricket the world over will miss him,” added Shah about Karunaratne, who retired at the same ground where he made his Test debut in 2012.
“On behalf of the ICC, I would like to congratulate him for an outstanding career and wish him all the best for the future. I hope he continues to contribute to the game in the years to come, using his experience of playing in different countries.”
Karunaratne began his international journey with an ODI against England in Manchester in 2011.
As an opener, he scored 16 Test centuries, sharing the Sri Lankan record for most centuries in that position with former captain Marvan Atapattu.
His most notable achievement came when he guided Sri Lanka to a 2-0 Test series victory over South Africa in 2019. This victory marked Sri Lanka as the first Asian team to win an away Test series against South Africa since their return to cricket.
From that historic series, only Kusal Mendis and Karunaratne played in the Test against Australia in Galle.